Milestones of Space: Eleven Iconic Objects from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (Smithsonian Series)

A beautifully illustrated history of the exploration of space through the most iconic objects from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Throughout the whole of human history, across all of Earth's cultures and landscapes, countless individuals have gazed up at the stars with wonder and awe. Getting to space was no easy task, and our curiosity with the surrounding universe has long been a source of earthly pride and competition. At the bottom of this international technology driven rivalry lies one unifying purpose, which is to understand the impossibly vast heavens. In Milestones of Space, Michael Neufeld and select curators of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum present a gorgeous photographic celebration of some of the most groundbreaking artifacts that played key parts in giving humanity its first steps into the cosmos. Focusing on the most iconic objects and technology - such as Friendship 7,the Lunar Module 2, Neil Armstrong's Lunar Suit, the Hubble Space Telescope, and Space Shuttle Discovery - this book extensively profiles eleven of the NASM's most important breakthroughs in space technology. The NASM curators feature each object in incredible detail with compelling timelines, sidebars and captions, and over 150 archival images that provide new and little-known insights into their development and historical context. We are still a long way from grasping our universe . . . but for now, Milestones of Space magnificently commemorates the individuals and inventions that have taken us this far.

Valerie Neal is curator for human spaceflight in the Space Shuttle and International Space Station era at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. Before joining the Smithsonian, she worked with NASA on early shuttle missions. She now curates exhibitions at the NASM and oversees more than 1,500 artifacts, principal among them the orbiter Discovery, which is housed in the NASM's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in northern Virginia. She lives in Washington, D.C.